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Archive for “Academics” Tag

5 Tips to a Healthy Football Season – And Any Sports Season

Posted on: August 10th, 2016 by IYCA No Comments

Football Season is Here

The season is upon us. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it’s football season. The time of year where you can lose more friends than in an election year. So with that said, 2016 may be an interesting year. Let’s call 2017 the year of reconciliations.

If you are an athlete, football season can be grueling and can wear you down. If you are a coach, it can do the same thing. If you are a parent…well, parents have it easy. All you have to do is print out this article, tape it to the fridge, and your young athlete will follow all 5 tips, right?

The goal of this quick article is to give the athletes 5 tips to a healthy football season and give coaches some things to harp on with your athletes. In a loving way, of course.

5 Tips to Having a Healthy Football Season

Tip #1: Nutrition

Eating “properly” for performance is a year long struggle for the young athlete and can get even more difficult during football season. One of the hardest goals to meet is getting the calories an athlete needs to perform. With lunch around noon and practice after school, kids can go 6-7 hours without eating in the afternoon.

Pro Tip: Bringing snacks to school is important to fill those huge gaps in the day. But don’t forget, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Don’t skip it.

Tip #2: Strength Train

If we work hard in the off-season, why lose all those “GAINS” during the season? Yea, I know, “I don’t have any time” or “we gotta spend that time watching film” is a common reason for skipping strength training. Time can be of the essence, but 2 days a week minimum is a must! Get into the weight room.

Pro Tip: The main goal in-season is to combat muscular imbalances that are caused by the season which CAN help prevent injuries. Oh yea, athletes CAN get stronger in-season! Don’t skip out on strength training during the season. Your off-season will thank you!

Tip #3: Sleep

You know what? I love video games too! I think it’s important to have fun with friends but don’t let it affect the season. Athletes need 8-9+ hours of sleep each night so the body can repair itself. Period.

Tip #4: Injuries

This is a big one for highly motivated athletes. Nobody likes to be hurt and miss games. But that slightly rolled ankle can quickly turn into a season ending injury if not treated correctly. There is a big difference between some bumps and bruises and an injury that can lead to something more serious.

Pro Tip: Maintain a good working relationship with ATC’s and make sure injuries are discussed.

Tip #5: Academics

Poor academics can lead to ZERO play time. Make school work a priority. Time management is one of the skills athletes will need to learn as a student athlete.

Pro Tip: Take advantage of free time. Use study hall for studying and homework (obviously), and use bus rides for the same thing. Being an athlete is work!

Have a Productive Football Season

Parents, I hope this is “fridge worthy”. Coaches, keep these tips in the front of your mind when it comes to your athletes. I hope that your football athletes will use these 5 tips to have a healthy and productive football season.

Josh Ortegon

About the Author: Josh Ortegon

Josh Ortegon - 5 Tips to a Healthy Football SeasonJoshua Ortegon is co-founder and the Director of Sports Performance Enhancement at Athlete’s Arena in Irmo, SC. Joshua earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science from Western Michigan University in 2000.

As an IYCA-certified High School Strength and Conditioning Specialist, speaker, and writer, Joshua has helped establish Athlete’s Arena as the premier high-performance center in South Carolina since 2005.

Joshua has worked with a wide range of athletes from youth to professionals specializing in the areas of injury prevention, return to play and performance enhancement.

Are Your Athletes Prepared to Perform this Season?

IYCA-LTAD-LM-Blog AD-V1 - 5 Tips to a Healthy Football Season
 

It’s Not the Values that Matter… It’s the Principles

Posted on: July 22nd, 2010 by IYCA No Comments

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You can get an ‘A’ by studying the night before, or you can get an ‘A’ by diligently tending to your work all semester.

 

The fact that the outcome is the same seems to imply that the path doesn’t matter.

 

But what about when the exam is over?

 

Study the night before and I guarantee that every piece of information you crammed into your head will be gone inside of 60 minutes post exam.

 

 

Study consistently over the semester, and your retention of the material will remain with your forever.

 

And that is a sizeable difference.

 

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Top 3 Speed & Agility With Young Athletes Mistakes – Part 2

Posted on: July 14th, 2010 by IYCA No Comments

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Speed & Agility With Young Athletes

It is very standard for Coaches and Training Facilities to both expect and ‘sell’ parents on the fact that the young athletes in their care will become decidedly better in only 6 or 8 weeks’ worth of training.

 

And in fact, they’re correct in saying so.

 

But not because their training system is somehow superior or because they possess unique talents as a Coach, quite simply, it’s because human beings are adaptive machines that alter (become better) under the strain of applied demand (training).

 

This is especially true for young people in the age bracket of 6 – 18.  This time of life represents a literal coming of age with respect to maturation and athletic ability.  The Central Nervous System is learning to master the art of movement, bones are growing more dense and muscles are becoming naturally longer and more powerful.

 

You could, quite literally, ask a 15 year old soccer player to run stairs 3 times per week for 6 weeks and show improvements to both their speed and power output capacity.  That doesn’t mean running stairs is an efficient training style, it just means that the human body is designed to accommodate the stress it is placed under by getting faster and stronger.

 

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Youth Fitness Training vs Long Term Athletic Development – Part 2

Posted on: May 24th, 2010 by IYCA 4 Comments

 

Youth Fitness

B) Using Socially Accepted Language to Create Understanding – Why Long Term Approaches are Necessary

 

Most consumers (parents and coaches) are truly unaware of what quality athletic development training should look like.  They have been conditioned through media and by our industry’s lack of foresight, to believe in the ‘one-and-gun’ style of "6-Week Programs to Increased Speed".

 

Having said that, trying to explain verbiage such as ‘Long-Term Athlete Development’ or ‘Developmental System’ won’t typically bridge an understanding to your prospects insofar as what makes the IYCA so unique and effective.

 

I have incurred great success by drawing parallels to some type of societal norm that layman already understand and are familiar with.

 

In the case of pediatric and adolescent clients, school represents your best case scenario.

 

When explaining the long-term approach to the IYCA Developmental Training System, your points should take on two separate but concentrated forms:

 

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Insights Into Training Young Athletes

Posted on: November 11th, 2008 by IYCA 5 Comments

 

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Young Athletes In Sports

Sometimes, it feels good to be validated that you’re right.

 

And that’s what happened to me yesterday.

 

I conducted an interview with a Youth Sports Psychologist
named Dr. Darrell Burnett for a project I’ve been working on.

 

Darrell and I first met on a DVD shoot back in 2003.

 

We were both asked to appear as ‘experts’ in a information
documentary based on youth sports called ‘Operation TLC’.

 

I was unbelievably impressed with Darrell’s stunning insight
into human emotion, behavior and consequence as well as the
role self-esteem plays in terms of the choices and decisions
we make for ourselves.

 

I was so impressed, that I still stay in contact with him and
frequently ask him questions related to topics surrounding
coaching, motivation and Coach/Athlete relationship.

 

We spoke yesterday at length about these exact topics.

 

Here’s what Darrell’s thoughts were related to training
young athletes –

 

  • We spend far too much time on worrying about the
    ‘end result’ and not near enough time on considering
    the ‘process’. It’s not where we’re going that matters as
    much as how far we’ve come along the path. Knowing
    the end point or result is critical, but being proud and
    satisfied with how far we’ve progressed towards that
    result is what must be on our heads daily.

     

  • The formative years are key for absolutely everything,
    from sports to music and academics. What we are exposed
    to young is the number one factor in determining how
    successful we become later in life. But this isn’t restricted
    to ‘physical’ stimulus, the emotional support and validation
    we receive early in life plays a significant role on our self-
    esteem and self-worth – so much so that dysfunctional adult
    syndromes such as codefendant can result if we aren’t
    taught that "winning and losing are both okay but don’t
    define who you are"

     

  • No matter how ‘great’ the young athletes in our care are,
    we must always strive to downplay their athletic ‘greatness’
    and focus on treating them like a person first and athlete
    second. ‘Brand identifying’ a young person as an ‘athlete’,
    ‘obese’ or ‘book worm’ lends to much credence to them
    feeling as though that’s what they must always live up to.
    They are valuable kids first and foremost, who just happen
    to excel in sports – nothing more.

     

 

Not only is it amazing for me to constantly learn from great
professionals like Dr. Burnett, but it’s also so validating to
see that what I teach through the IYCA in terms of ‘The Art
of Coaching’ lines up so perfectly with what he has to say.

 

Re-read those lessons from Dr. Burnett and be sure that
you’re treating your young athletes the way he knows is right.

 

You can never stop learning.

 

 

‘TIll next time,

 

Brian

 

 

 

P.S. – Gaining insight from great professionals like Dr. Darrell
Burnett is a necessity in terms of becoming the most successful
professional you can be. Have a look inside my head and
understand how and why I produce the most successful training
programs for youths in the world today.

 

Visit http://www.iyca.org/course/programdesign and learn
the tremendous insight that will make you a better young athletes Coach or
Trainer guaranteed.